<snip>"Even with the tantalizing opportunity to grill Mr. Cohen on the myriad ways his former boss most likely sought to evade the law and avoid his creditors, many members of the committee, from both parties, could not resist their usual grandstanding.

Her questions were not random, but, rather, well thought out. Like a good prosecutor, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was establishing the factual basis for
further committee investigation. She asked one question at a time, avoided long-winded speeches on why she was asking the question, and listened carefully to his answer, which gave her the basis for a follow-up inquiry."

"In just five minutes, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez actually helped him lay out the facts to substantiate those charges."

<end snip>

One of her last questions was hidden dynamite (for an unnamed billionaire centrist running in 2020)....
<snip from transcript>Ocasio-Cortez:"Thank you very much. The last thing here. The Trump golf organization currently has a golf course in my home borough of the Bronx,

Trump [Golf] Links. I drive past it every day, going between the Bronx and Queens. In fact, The Washington Post reported on the Trump Links Bronx course in an article titled, “Taxpayers built this New York golf course and Trump reaps the rewards. ” That article is where many New Yorkers and people in the country learned that taxpayers spent $127 million to build Trump Links in a “generous deal” that allowed Trump to “keep almost every dollar that flows in.” On a golf course built with public funds. And this does not seem to be the only time that Trump has benefited at the expense of the public. ....

Mr. Cohen, do you know whether this specific report is accurate?"

Cohen: "It’s identical to what he did at Trump National Golf Club at Briarcliff Manor."
<end snip>

This seemed to me to be a strangely specific question regarding "Trump Links"..
This got me thinking, who would give Trump such a sweetheart deal, using public funds to build his business????Answer:
Michael Bloomberg. I guess I was only slightly surprised, but still...

WashPost: The relationship between Trump and Bloomberg
<snip>Bloomberg had promised he would oversee the transformation of a trash dump in the Bronx into a world-class golf course. The Bloomberg administration hoped a developer such as Trump would agree to pay for the cleanup and build the course, but no one bid.
Eager to keep his campaign promise, Bloomberg eventually decided city taxpayers would pay the bill. The project had started under a prior mayor and reached $164 million to build the course, and millions more for environmental measures. The Bloomberg administration then sent out bids for a company to finish the course by planting seed and some other measures and constructing a clubhouse.

With the course nearly finished, Trump secured a generous 20-year deal with the city allowing him to keep almost every dollar that flows in.

Taxpayers for the first four years get nothing, except for the sprawling course’s utility bills.

But even at a golf course where Trump has no ownership and doesn’t pay property taxes, Trump has found ways of profiting from public funds. In the Bronx course’s first year of play, city records show Trump’s company made $8 million in revenue while taxpayers covered $1 million in water and sewage bills.

Trump’s victories, financial and otherwise, are now immortalized on the public greens. At the 12th hole, crews installed a plaque to commemorate its first hole-in-one — an 8-iron shot by Donald J. Trump.

Here they they level entirely unreasonable criticism at her for using cars and not taking the subway. As if any well-known figure in their right mind, let alone a controversial political leader could take the subway without protection. If AOC were to take the subway, she would be exposed at the very least, to high levels of harassment; And probably far worse. And she would tie up the system for regular riders.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I believe she's very smart, but AOC's "style" drives me crazy. She specializes in provocative, over-the-top, outrageous statements that will show up in sound bites. This style seems very similar to the techniques that allowed Trump to win the Republican nomination in 2016. When AOC is dominating media coverage, it makes things much more difficult for other Democrats to be heard. How long before the other national figures adopt this style? Trump started it, but now I expect it will become the norm...another step backward in American political discourse.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

This style seems very similar to the techniques that allowed Trump to win the Republican nomination in 2016.﻿

Yes. I've noticed this myself.

On 3/3/2019 at 5:51 PM, bludog said:

Now all she has to do is smooth out the rough edges.

As has been said about Trump, AOC seems to suck all the oxygen out of the room, so to speak. Her flamboyant style is like a sharp, double-edged sword, swung carelessly. It gets her both positive attention and censure with each cut. Probably because I mostly agree with her political agenda, I'm more willing to overlook her behavior than Trump's.

And compared to Trump, AOC is, as you noted, is very smart. Unlike Trump, she doesn't appear to be a sociopath. But her style needs a lot of improvement before she can live up to her potential. At 29, there's still time, if she's flexible enough to use it.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

My post was strictly a review of her 5 minute performance at the Cohen hearing.

During that 5 minutes, her style was spot on, and she did not play to the cameras, like most of the other Rep's.

There are, (as both of you point out), some real rough edges. She is, as we know, from the Bronx, so she is representing her district's attitude.

Consider the her defeat of the 4th ranking Democrat Joe Crowley.

Speaking of Joe Crowley, what's he been up to lately???

Democracy Now:

"Former New York Congressman Joe Crowley has joined the corporate lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs. The lobbying firm represents fossil fuel interests, the arms industry and a private prison company, among others. Some of its clients include Gulf Energy Alliance, which promotes oil and gas drilling, and the conservative Koch-backed Policy and Taxation Group. Former Republican Congressman Bill Shuster is also joining the firm. "

I would say AOC is a big improvement over Crowley

She's only been in office two months, hopefully she can decelerate a little bit.